After sorting through more than 1,000 responses to a recent environmental study on the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line, project leaders have narrowed in on a list of 25 issues they say will command most of their attention.

Top Southwest light rail issues outlined

Plans now call for a Southwest Light Rail Station on Technology Drive, about a mile northwest of Eden Prairie Center, in Eden Prairie. Local officials want the station closer to the mall and have proposed three different options, including one near the Den Road and West 78th Street intersection. (STAFF PHOTO: BILL KLOTZ)

Freight rail, Eden Prairie alignment top list

After sorting through more than 1,000 responses to a recent environmental study on the proposed Southwest Light Rail Transit line, project leaders have narrowed in on a list of 25 issues they say will command most of their attention.

The issues were outlined Wednesday before a group of local officials working on the project and will be addressed over the coming months as engineering work continues on the $1.3 billion LRT line between Minneapolis and Eden Prairie.

As expected, the top issues include freight-rail relocation in St. Louis Park, route realignment in Eden Prairie, and the location of an operation and maintenance facility, which could go in Minneapolis or Eden Prairie.

Other issues on the list include the location of a dozen stations along the 15-mile route and a handful of road crossings, including a request from Minnetonka to tunnel under Highway 62 rather than build a bridge. Park-and-ride locations and impacts to adjacent trails are also on the list.

While the list is long, project leaders said the issues were not unexpected on such a project, especially while engineering is just 1 percent complete.

“What this is really about is defining the footprint,” said Jim Alexander, assistant project director for design and engineering on the Southwest LRT line.

When the 11-mile Central Corridor Light Rail Transit line was in the planning phase, the Metropolitan Council had a list of 37 issues that needed to be addressed as the project moved into more detailed engineering. Most were worked out within six months. The line, which is due to open in 2014, will connect the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

The hope with the Southwest LRT is to resolve issues by September, so that the municipal consent process can be completed by the end of the year. The hope is to get approval from cities along the route before starting more detailed engineering.

Plans call for presenting in March new proposed alignments in Eden Prairie, where officials want a station to be moved within a quarter-mile of Eden Prairie Center. More details on freight rail are expected in April, with a complete report by this summer.

Officials acknowledged they are working on a tight time line, but said it is workable schedule and important to keep the project moving forward. Plans call for the line to be under construction in 2015 and operating by 2018.

“What this does is helps bring discipline to the process, knowing these are the areas where we need to focus our efforts,” said Mark Fuhrmann, the Metropolitan Council’s lead on light rail projects,

Kathy Nelson, a member of the Eden Prairie City Council, said she was grateful to be moving forward so that businesses that would be affected by a different alignment can better prepare.

“A lot of our businesses have been sitting out there waiting for two years — as far as they’re concerned this isn’t swift at all,” she said.

Met Council member Jennifer Munt, who chairs the Southwest LRT’s Community Advisory Committee, a group of more than 40 residents weighing in on the design, said she looks forward to resolution on the freight rail reroute.

Competing plans call for leaving freight traffic on the Kenilworth Corridor, along with LRT trains, or moving them to a lesser-used track west of Highway 100 that is near residential areas and the St. Louis Park High School.

Freight rail operator Twin Cities & Western has said the reroute poses derailment dangers because it includes steep curves and grade changes, while Minneapolis officials have fought co-location because it would require more right of way.

“Our desire with the reroute is that it not be a zero-sum game, but something that works for all sides,” Munt said.

Whatever changes are ultimately made, one largely unmovable element is the budget. The $1.3 billion project remains largely unfunded, and proponents are looking to secure state and federal funding now.